


He Just Wants His Dad

by SSspaceshark



Series: Dad Penguin AU [2]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Batman doesn't know how to deal with kids, Jason wants his dad, Penguin might beat up Batman
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-17
Updated: 2020-04-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:41:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23696380
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SSspaceshark/pseuds/SSspaceshark
Summary: Victor is still a good babysitter.
Relationships: Oswald Cobblepot & Jason Todd
Series: Dad Penguin AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1702285
Comments: 15
Kudos: 93





	1. Chapter 1

Oswald has told Jason several times that if something went wrong, when Oswald wasn't around, to call him. Today started out so nicely, Oswald was leaving his boy with Victor for a few hours. Oswald needed his men to know every step, every leap, of their next move. It was seriously one a few hours. He comes home to find neither there so he waits. He waits for two hours. He storms out of the house, he'll have to tear through town to find his boy.

Jason likes Mr.Victor. He likes learning about what Mr.Victor does and how his work is going. Mr.Victor is nice, nothing like the newspapers say he is. Mr.Victor got even cooler when he started fighting Nightwing and Robin. Jason is hiding in a locker as the fight rages, everything is being smashed, he can hear it. His heart pumps faster when it all goes quiet. He can hear the two vigilantes talking softly, they know he's here. He tries not to make a sound, but they've already found him. Jason bolts, almost slipping on the ice as he goes. He can hear them call out to him and he knows they're following, but he's an alley kid through and through, he knows a little about losing someone in a chase. 

Adrenaline pumps through him as he runs as fast as he can, sometimes being small pays off. He doesn't plan on slowing down, but he does end up stopping when he crashes right into Batman's armored chest. He can hear the snap of his nose before he feels it. He backs away, disoriented for a moment, managing to avoid being grabbed by anyone. He can feel tears stinging his eyes as he holds his hand over his nose. Fight or flight kicks in as they try to calm him, but Nightwing gets too close and Jason swings, hard. He hears a the same crunch from Nightwing's nose. He tries to book it again, but Batman grabs the back of his shirt and hoists him up.

"Calm down." The big guy barks at Jason.

Jason spits at him, "Fuck off!"

"B, he isn't a dog." Nightwing reminds him

"Lemme go, asshole!" He kicks and struggles, he doesn't like being manhandled by people he doesn't know or like.

Batman does the opposite, he carries Jason to the Batmobile, Nightwing and Robin following. Jason does the only thing h can think of. He screams as loud as he can. Robin flinches and Jason almost stops screaming to snort. Nightwing covers an ear and then Jason's mouth, Jason bites him. Something stings in Jason's neck, and then he's out like a light. He's pissed and fucking terrified. He wants his dad.

Oswald orders his men to tear Gotham apart until his boy is found. He finds Victor knocked out and Jason's book bag in the corner of the room. Judging by the back door being wide open, he deduces that Jason must have run. The men he has with him follow him out the door. His ears twitch when he hears faint screaming, it sounds like a child. It could be any child, but Oswald has a heavy feeling that the scream is coming from his child. He races to find the kid screaming but all he finds are tire tracks and on the ground is his boy's phone. Whoever has Jason will have hell to pay.

Jason wakes up in a very weird place, then he remembers what happened. Is... Does Batman seriously work from a cave? A fucking cave? This is so weird and... they kidnapped him. They _kidnapped_ him. He sits up quickly and looks around. This isn't good. He searches the small room he's in for something to use as a weapon. He decides the most dangerous thing in here is probably his pillow and himself.

"Okay... work with what ya' have, Jay..." He mutters to himself

The door opens, revealing the hulking form of Batman. Jason hides the fear he feels with anger. He clutches his pillow and stares at the man, not moving. Eventually the man is moved by the walking traffic light. Jason doesn't like the kid either. He doesn't really trust the other kids in his school, he doesn't give a fuck if this kid is Robin. Nightwing fills the doorway with a bright, chirpy smile and a bandage on his nose.

"You're awake! Sorry about that." Nightwing speaks like he can make things better, almost like a social worker.

When Jason doesn't say anything, Nightwing continues, "You got me good, even B was shocked." Jason hates this guy, "I heard you live with Penguin." 

Nightwing stares at Jason intently, he's waiting for a reaction. Jason doesn't know what kind though. He knows his dad isn't exactly a good guy, but he's good to Jason. He doesn't yell at Jason for standing in one spot and spacing out, he doesn't hit Jason, he doesn't do drugs, he beats up anyone that threatens Jason. His dad is the best. 

"You know you can tell me anything, right?" Oh... that's what he was waiting for. He... they think Penguin is hurting Jason in some way, "He can't get to you here, you know? You're safe."

Jason mutters under his breath.

"You gotta speak up, kid." Nightwing's voice is soft

"What the fuck is wrong with ya'?!" He shouts, doesn't mean to, but he does at the same time

Nightwing is shocked, "I don't mean to push--"

"My dad wouldn't do any o' that shit! You guys weren't worried 'bout me before dad adopted me." 

"Hey, hey, calm down--"

"Calm down?! You guys kidnapped me and you think my dad is hurtin' me! I know what he does but he doesn't hurt me!" Jason is still yelling

Batman is in the room now. He's trying to intimidate Jason into being qiuet. Jason hurls his pillow at Batman's head as hard as he can. 

"Take me home! I want my dad!" He's screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Kid--" Nightwing steps closer

"I want my dad!" He screams again, "I want my dad! I want my dad! I want my da--" He's cut off by the Batman covering his mouth. Jason screams through the glove and begins to thrash about. He hears his nose crunch again, and pain sears through him, making him scream louder.

Nightwing and Batman are both panicking as the door swings open, the traffic light is there with an old man. Jason is still screaming at the top of his lungs with tears rolling down his face. 

"My word, Batman, unhand the boy, now." The old man orders 

The Batman lets go but immediately covers his mouth again because Jason is still screaming. He can't breath very well, and he knows he's probably turning blue. The older man starts over to them to remove the Bat's hand. They're talking but Jason can't hear it as the edges of his vision darken. He feels lightheaded and he hears the childish voice of the traffic light panicking over something. The last thing he sees before his blacks out is the ceiling then floor coming into view, then nothing.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite the first fic in this series, I have decided Jason with be strawberry blonde, leaning a little more to the red side of it, but still light.

Oswald searches high and low, his men tearing Gotham apart piece by piece. He's determined to find his boy, no matter what. He'll destroy Gotham in the process if that's what it takes. He's shouting orders at a group of men to search the alleys again when one of his newest goons drags in a homeless looking man. The man's eyes are wild. Oswald stalks over as the homeless man jerks his head up to look at him. He gets an almost toothless smile of sadness.

"Th-that little boy. Strawberry blond. He yours?" The man's voice is gruff as he speaks

"You saw him. It would be very dumb of you to come in here if you took him." Penguin spins his cane and stands right in front of the men, gesturing for the goon to let the homeless man go.

The homeless man curses under his breath and rubs his arm before the attention is back on Oswald, "The Batman has him, saw blood on the kid's face but couldn't do anything bout it. Thought maybe the kid stole something, but that apparently isn't the case."

"Why help me? You must know who I am." Penguin watches the man carefully, despite the nagging feeling in his head and chest that what the man said is most likely true, the man could be playing him.

"I had a boy, red hair and freckles. I even lived in the nice part of Gotham. He was kidnapped by Gotham's worse and accidentally killed in crossfire because of Batman. That man couldn't even wait around for cops or an ambulance with my boy." The man speaks with an almost calm tone.

"Thank you for your help, I will have my men reward you." He tells his men to find this man somewhere to stay.

Oswald marches right through Gotham with his men, he hates to admit it, but he needs James Gordon's help. He enters the precinct without the flair he usually has, it doesn't even calm him a little when the entire precinct goes quiet. He ignores a shaky question and heads straight for Commissioner Gordon. The man is shocked and not very pleased but Oswald frankly doesn't give a fuck. He shuts the door as a few of his men stand outside the door.

"What's the meaning of this, Cobblepot?" The man growls

"Commisioner Gordon, I would like to report a kidnapping." He doesn't sound as calm as he hopes. He's a mess.

James' eyes widen, "Excuse me?"

"I am reporting a kidnapping, Gordon. My son was kidnapped." He paces, not sounding as collected as he wants

James takes a moment before hovering his fingers over the keys of his computer because no man could fake how Oswald is acting this well, "Tell me what the kid looks like and we'll go from there."

As Oswald rattles off details, it dawns on James that he knows the damn kid. The street rat that he always fed when he brought him in. The little Todd boy that was doing anything to survive alone on the streets. He vaguely remembers hearing that Penguin adopted some kid on the streets, he didn't think to look into it. He should have.

"I know who has him and I have a witness." Oswald's fists are clenched, his nails digging into his palms

"I'll need to question them too."

Oswald just nods and then shocks him. Batman kidnapped a kid. Batman hurt a kid. That doesn't seem right, it really doesn't. James writes it down anyways.

"Bring the witness to the precinct." He might have to polygraph the witness

Oswald nods and in seconds he's on the phone. James watches him for a moment before looking over the information he has. Jason Todd, strawberry blond, blue eyes, last seen in light blue jeans, white sneakers, and a red hoodie and black coat. Didn't his men find a book bag that belonged to a child in the room they found Dr. Victor Fries knocked out in, that was called in by Batman and... Batman wouldn't... Dammit. He pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs deeply. The back door was wide open, the kid probably ran and was grabbed by Batman, but why? Why kidnap a kid? Especially one that is the son of a rogue? 

The witness is brought in about half an hour later. It takes a few more hours for them to polygraph the man, but James know already. He calls his daughter, the ex-Batgirl. She might know why the Batman took the kid. He sits in his office with the door closed and locked, Penguin is still pacing in front of his door.

"Dad, aren't you at work?" Her voice is light

"Yeah, that's why I'm calling, kiddo."

"I'm an adult, what can I do for you?"

"I'll get right to the point, I have reasons to believe that the Batman kidnapped a child tonight. Not just any child, Barb, Penguin's."

The line is silent for so long that James thinks she hung up on him, "It's not like you to accuse the Batman, you must have strong evidence."

"We polygraphed the witness. Everything he said is the truth. Barbara, you need to tell the Bat to bring the kid here to the precinct, I don't give a damn what his reason is to take the kid. Penguin has already torn apart half of Gotham looking for his son." James leans back in his chair

"Dad, I can't tell Batman what to do."

"Tell him to bring the kid here or the whole precinct will issue an amber alert and hunt him down. He's a fucking kid, Barb, he was on the street before Penguin took him in." He hangs up, he feels guilty for snapping at her and he'll make it up to her later because this isn't her fault.


	3. Chapter 3

When Jason comes to he's in a different room. His head is pounding and his throat hurts, it feels like he ate glass. He tries not to look at the door when it opens. He's afraid to look at it, he doesn't want to see Batman or Nightwing. The brat didn't do anything wrong other than follow orders of the older two. It's not Batman that comes into the room though, it's the old man. He's carrying a bowl and a mug on a tray. The old man is quiet as he sets the tray on the nightstand and grabs a table from under the bed that sits hovering over Jason's lap.

"Now, I believe an apology is in order and seeing as how I have banned any of the masters from wearing their suits upstairs, I will have to apologize that I was not down there to put a stop to this madness. As soon as I deem it safe enough, you will be brought back down to the cave. I have grounded the masters away from this part of the home." The old man speaks with a fancy accent that Jason has only heard from some guys dad sells weapons to.

Jason tries to speak, but it seems that his voice is gone. The old man smiles and sets the tray on the table.

"Your voice will return after a hot meal and some rest, sir, if you'll excuse me, I have three children to deal with." The old man leaves the room

Jason kind of likes him, he's sassy and he tried to help Jason. Plus the soup tastes amazing, maybe he could see if the guy wants to work for dad instead. Jason finishes his soup and sips the warm tea, he can taste the honey and lemon. He sighs softly and lets himself relax. The old guy has his back.

Dick doesn't know which is worse, being scolded and grounded by Alfred or getting yelled at by Barbara. She isn't happy because her dad isn't happy. Penguin went to the commissioner with this and didn't try to tear Batman apart like they assumed he would. Dick is pacing when Alfred comes back down into the cave, Bruce is slumped in his chair and pouting while Tim, innocent little Tim, is trying to shrink away from being in trouble. Dick tried to take the blame for the plan, but Alfred told him that it was also Bruce's fault. 

"I hope you are happy with yourselves. The boy has lost his voice and will be resting in the guest wing. None of you will go see him. By tomorrow morning I will bring him back down to the cave to be transported home."

"He might have to leave earlier, Alfie, Penguin went to the commissioner. He has to be turned into the GCPD by midnight or Batman is being hunted down by the entire police force." Dick speaks nervously

"I can't believe he went to-"

"I do, Master Bruce, you kidnapped his _son_. You would go to the police if you were in his shoes. I will go inform the boy that you will return him to the precinct. You will also inform the commissioner why his nose is broken and why he lost his voice." Alfred leaves the cave quickly.

Moments later, Jason is blindfolded as he's brought back into the cave. He doesn't get to remove it even when he gets put into a car. It's removed just as the GCPD comes into view. He never thought that he would be happy to see the building. They stop a few blocks away and Jason tries to bolt for the building, but Batman grabs the back of his shirt and with a rush of wind they're on the roof. Jason struggles and glares at the man behind the mask. They end up on the rooftop of the GCPD not even moments later. 

"What the hell were you thinking, Batman?" Gordon is already on the roof, walking over to them as Batman puts Jason down.

"Jim, Penguin is-"

"Batman, I don't give a damn about what Penguin is right now." Gordon examines Jason, his eyes staring at the bruise that is Jason's nose.

"He ran into the chest plate... the first time. I accidentally broke it the second time, a few hours ago, when I was trying to cover his mouth to stop the screaming." Batman actually sounds nervous

"That must be why the kid hasn't said anything. Batman, I really don't need to tell you how bad this is. You kidnapped a child. Not only that, A rogue's kid! Penguin's." Gordon pulls Jason behind him

"Penguin-"

"Hasn't bothered you in the past week. Go home, Batman." Gordon ends the conversation by taking Jason inside. 

Jason hears his dad before he sees him and he's already sobbing. The sobbing hurts his throat, but he can't stop it at this point. He all but crashes into his dad's waiting arms. He's shaking and sobbing loudly. His dad holds him until Jason calms into scratchy whimpers. Jason doesn't let go of him as he talks to Gordon. Gordon tells his dad about why Jason isn't talking and why his nose is black and blue. He's brought to the infirmary and still doesn't let his dad go as the doctor looks at his face and replaces the bandages on his nose. After a few more hours, they're heading home. Jason ends up asleep before they get there and ends up waking up in dad's bed with him. Jason finally feels safe.


End file.
